Presently, in use is the standard type of wheelchair which must be bolted to a low wooden platform which prohibits any forward or backward motion and, hence restricts overall fencing action. With the increased participation of paraplegics in athletic events, wheelchair modifications have been patented. Except for the purpose-made racing wheelchair (U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,064), the majority of wheelchair improvements are represented by relatively minor changes in the standard design. These include, respectfully a rocking seat assembly (U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,848), a mobile body support vehicle (U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,758), a folding sports wheelchair (U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,212), and a chair with adjustable wheel camber (U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,631) One additional chair had been designed with a lever and a pole which contacts the tire (U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,729). By moving the lever forward, the chair is made to move forward, and this eliminates the need to use the handrails attached to the main wheels.
The sport of fencing takes place on a strip 14 meters long by 2 meters wide. As such, lateral movement is limited. Most of the fencing action occurs essentially within the distance of the extended arm plus blade length. The latter being approximately 0.9 meters in length. The athletes converge to this distance through rapid lunging and rushing leg motions. The majority of leg motions consist of short advances and retreats accompanied by a great deal of blade contact between opposing athletes. Presently, paraplegic fencing is conducted on a low raised platform to which the wheelchairs are affixed just within the athlete's extended arm length plus the blade length relative to the opposing athlete. Although the blade action of the paraplegic fencer is the same as that of the non-handicapped fencer, the lack of forward and rearward movement limits the strategy and intensity of the action. To overcome this limitation, the present invention relates to a purpose built wheelchair which allows limited movement that nonetheless closely simulates non-handicapped fencing action.
An object of this invention is to mimic the movement component of non-handicapped fencing for the paraplegic athlete. This is achieved by allowing for limited linear motion of the wheelchair with the use of only the non-weapon hand of the paraplegic fencer.